


Six Fingers, Six Eyes

by allislaughter



Category: Gravity Falls, Trollhunters (Cartoon)
Genre: Crossover Pairings, M/M, POV Third Person, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-04-08 15:38:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 16,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14108589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allislaughter/pseuds/allislaughter
Summary: Of course the guy with six fingers on each hand and the Troll with six eyes would end up falling for each other. It's clear to everyone that they love each other. Except, of course, to themselves.A crossover between Trollhunters and Gravity Falls inspired by a late night jamming session that turned into several headcanons shipping Ford with Blinky. Takes place three years after the end of Gravity Falls and in some nondescript period in the Trollhunters timeline.





	1. Maybe Next Time

**Author's Note:**

> Full Disclosure: I haven't seen all of Trollhunters yet at the time I wrote this but I was really excited to write it so I tried to keep things vague enough to lessen anything that is disproved by canon in the episodes I haven't seen yet. Please keep that in mind if you wonder why I didn't include something or if I got something wrong. I assure you that it wasn't on purpose and I hope that it doesn't take away from any enjoyment of this fic. Thank you!

The Trollhunter and his two friends earned their place in Trollmarket despite being human, but everyone was thankful that there wasn’t any other humans that would set foot in their lands. But a new family moved into Arcadia Oaks, trouble came with them, and suddenly _four_ more humans found their way underground. _Seven humans total_ was too many, but these four new humans had their quirks that made them tolerable.

One of them had been able to capture a freakish hybrid of a gremlin and a goblin at a young age. The fact he had survived even after water made the freak more freakish was admirable.

Another made sweaters for all the trolls in Trollmarket and impressed Vendel that it could be pulled over his horns and still fit comfortably—not that Vendel would admit he was impressed. (According to the girl, she had practice from making sweaters for minotaurs. She also was good with a leafblower to scare away the gnomes having learned that technique from a larger subspecies of gnome that lived in the woods to the north. Something about having to defend herself when those gnomes tried to make her their queen. The North was full of weird things like that.)

One of the two older humans punched a Stalkling. In the face. While riding it. How he managed that was a mystery, but mystery seemed to follow these new humans. Such as the fact things seemed to go missing around this man, but so far no one had been able to prove he stole anything. He behaved _usually,_ at least.

And then the other human, the twin of the Stalkling puncher, a human with six fingers on each hand... He was the weirdest of them for the sole fact of—

_B O O M_

The market shook and several eyes turned towards the source with no surprise that it was this “Ford” and Blinkous Galadrigal. _Again_. Testing another of Ford’s inventions supplied with power from Troll magic. Whether or not this was the intended effect...

The two began to laugh, hearty and with glee. Perhaps they _had_ intended an explosion. In their joy, they turned to each other and Blinky brought his head down. The other Trolls stared in anticipation, and they watched Ford almost perfectly in-sync with Blinky stand on his toes to bring his head up. The two bumped foreheads together.

And almost immediately, the two pulled away from each other, embarrassment rife on their faces. The other Trolls held back their groans and decided “maybe next time” and left Blinky and Ford to clean up their mess.

In Blinky’s mind, he chastised himself for letting that happen since there was no way Ford would know that forehead bumping was a form of Troll affection.

In Ford’s mind, he chastised himself for doing that when he knew perfectly well that forehead bumping was a way Trolls showed affection.

After all, a Troll and a human? How preposterous.

After all, the two of them were just extremely close as friends.

After all, it’s not like Ford was ever interested in dating _humans_ let alone someone not human who he respected and enjoyed the presence of as much as his own family.

After all, it’s not like Blinky had any interest in dating a human who he respected and enjoyed the presence of as dearly as he did Ford.

It wasn’t like the entirety of Trollmarket and the six other humans allowed in all were waiting for the two of them to realize that they had been practically dating for weeks now.

Except it was, not that either of them could put that three and three together for some frustrating reason. Ford was the weirdest of them for clearly being in love with Blinky and vice versa and yet neither of them seemed to realize this yet.

Maybe next time.


	2. First Impressions

Ford dragged his brother to Arcadia Oaks to investigate the strange level of Weirdness circling the town, and it had been a happy coincidence that their niece and nephew’s family had moved there from Piedmont allowing them to have a reunion and enlist extra help in their monster hunt. Dipper and Mabel were teenagers in high school now and it was wonderful, if worrying, how fast they were growing. Mabel still had her bright and cheerful personality and quickly gained popularity in their new school. Dipper had hit his growth spurt and was now taller than Mabel but still was on the edge of his seat for a mystery when not having his nose in a book to research. Having this reunion and the prospect of adventure was good for both of them, and Stan and Ford were both ecstatic to see them again.

But right now, in the dead of night (luckily on a Friday so no need to worry their parents about the two being out on a school night), the two sets of twins had split up to follow two different trails of Weird activity.

Stan had been the first to find what he and Ford were looking for: a pair of large, horned beings with skin like rocks. One of them was a hulking figure and the other had four arms and six eyes. And they both ran off at the sight of the twins before Stan and Ford could get close enough to confirm what they saw.

They gave chase and somehow the two creatures led straight to Dipper and Mabel where they were helping another three teenagers fend off another set of monstrous beings. Ford readied his gun and Stan readied his fists.

In the aftermath of the fight with the clearing dust and heavy breaths, Mabel was the first to break the tense silence gushing over how cool all that was and Dipper was quick to point out that he _knew_ his three classmates knew something about magic. Their classmates were full of questions for the four of them as well, as were the other two beings. Trolls, Ford was able to identify upon closer inspection. Everyone gave their short explanations and moved on to walk back to someone’s home. Anyone’s home. Just as long as they got out of the street and could relax. This turned out to be Stan and Ford’s home.

In the aftermath of the aftermath, once introductions were formally given and situations explained, Ford sat itching in his chair to get his journal and take notes and field sketches on the Trolls sitting next to him. The one closest to him, the one with six eyes, Blinky... He looked over Ford, took note of the six fingers on each of Ford’s hands.

“Most humans possess a pitiful lack of appendages,” Blinky said. “But you, my friend, at least seem to compensate with additional digits.”

Ford wasn’t sure if he should take that as an insult or a compliment.

Probably a bit of both.

In a show of making an equally good first impression, Ford blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

“Does having six eyes give you superior depth perception to someone with two eyes, or do you have six eyes to compensate having poorer resolution in each compared to someone with two eyes?”

If there was ever a time to regret never learning better social skills, judging by the look he got in return...

“You should come over to our house tomorrow!” Mabel cut in to save the tension as always. “I can introduce you to my pet pig Waddles!”

“That pig is still kicking?” Stan asked. “It’s been, what, three years?”

Ford shook his head. “Domestic pigs have an average lifespan of 15 to 20 years, Stanley.”

The conversation moved on after that until everyone got enough information to sate them for that night and so everyone could make it back to their homes before they got into too much trouble. Ford made sure not the mention the three pairs of eyes he constantly felt on him during the rest of the visit. At least it was better than one single eye and a caps-lock triangular voice.

Still, he had his concerns where this initial meeting would lead.


	3. Goo-Goo Eyes

Perhaps they had gotten off to a “rocky” start during their first meeting, but in the times to follow Ford proved himself to be a well of knowledge and fully capable in a fight despite his age. At first, Blinky had been annoyed by Ford finishing his sentences for him and he had retaliated by cutting across Ford’s sentences to finish _those_... But Ford smiled instead, clearly impressed by Blinky’s knowledge and actually prompting for more.

Blinky recommended _A Brief Recapitulation of Troll Lore,_ as he tended to do, and Ford had all 47 volumes deciphered and studied by the _following week_. Stan cited that Ford was the biggest nerd to walk the Earth and Ford cited that Stan was just annoyed that Ford had spent the last several days to his studies. Blinky didn’t care. He could only marvel Ford’s diligence and aptitude. (Dipper was also a bright young lad and had been lent Volume 47 to read between his school work and Blinky was just as pleased with this, but that was beside the point.)

And yet Ford still wanted to know more. An endless thirst for knowledge in that one it seemed, though Stan voiced his concerns to Ford in private. Something about “don’t make this Weirdmaggedon Two, Poindexter” and Ford replying with “I highly doubt it will come to that.”

By the time the Pines clan was formally introduced to Troll Market, Ford was all too ready to see and learn more. After some initial trouble with the other Trolls for letting _four_ more humans into _their_ territory (and the means by which they justified it), Ford became a frequent visitor with a journal and a pen in hand to make his notes and sketches of everything he could. Blinky glanced over his shoulder on a few occasion and noted how well drawn and clean these sketches and notes were. Ford clearly had experience.

The gnomes were an interesting entry in Ford’s journal. Ford mentioned that these weren’t like the gnomes he had encountered in Gravity Falls, Mabel and Dipper agreed, and it was finally Blinky’s turn to ask for more information.

Blinky listened raptly while Mabel and Dipper explained their encounters with the Oregon gnomes: larger creatures than the vermin around the market and that spoke in English and tried to make Mabel their queen until Mabel used a leaf blower to get rid of them. And then he listened closer to Ford explaining his studies on these gnomes, his theories that they may be a larger subspecies of gnome derived from the same parent species as the gnomes around the market or otherwise a species of gnome that evolved from the market gnomes...

Blinky didn’t notice when he started leaning on the table with his chin in all four of his hands, but he certainly noticed when Mabel started elbowing Dipper and giggling though he couldn’t fathom what got over her. Mabel excused herself and Dipper and the two of them left to meet up with their Grunkle Stan elsewhere in the market with AAARRRGGHH!!! for who knew what reason. Ford didn’t seem to mind—he trusted those two to get into less trouble than Stan probably was—but he asked for Blinky’s thoughts and knowledge on gnomes.

Later, unbeknownst to Blinky and Ford, Dipper and Mabel led Stan and AAARRRGGHH!!! back to where the other two were still sitting and taking turns for who would talk and who would sit enraptured with their chin in their hands.

“You’re kidding me,” Stan balked. “He was never interested in girls in all of high school—”

“Or boys?” Mabel asked.

“ _Or_ boys,” Stan added. “And yet the first person he’ll make goo-goo eyes at is a Troll?”

Dipper squinted at the two and frowned. “Wait... You mean those two are...?”

“Flirting,” AAARRRGGHH!!! confirmed.

“That’s adorable,” Mabel giggled. She let out a soft sigh. “Reminds me of me and Mermando...”

“Mabel,” Dipper groaned. “I don’t think this is like you and Mermando.”

“Well, yeah, Dipper,” Mabel laughed. “Because neither _me_ or _Mermando_ were _nerds_.”

“Kids,” Stan said. “Hate to burst your bubble, but I don’t think my brother even knows what flirting _is_ much less that he’s _doing_ it.”

“Blinky doesn’t either,” AAARRRGGHH!!! added.

Mabel stared and her smile slowly spread to almost unnatural lengths. “You know what _that_ means...? It’s time for Operation Get Grunkle Ford and Blinky Together!”


	4. Language of Love (Troll)

Jim, Toby, and Claire easily noticed how Blinky was spending a lot of time with Ford Pines. A _lot_ of time. There was hardly a day where the three of them would go to Trollmarket and not find Ford already there discussing something new with Blinky, or not find Blinky helping Ford with one of his inventions. At least Ford didn’t try to keep Blinky from whatever important things Blinky needed to do with the three of them, but it’d be almost suspicious and they’d be concerned about Ford not being what he seems if it weren’t for Dipper and Mabel vouching for his well-meaning.

Still, finding Ford discussing something in fluent Troll with a weird, almost shy smile on his face while Blinky replied back just as... enamored? (“Bewitched?” Jim had mumbled under his breath) was strange and worrying, and so the three of them hid and eavesdropped and let Claire translate...

“What?” Claire asked. “They’re talking about how to capture and kill a gremlin so that Ford can study the remains.”

“What?” Toby wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Then why do they have that weird _look_ on their faces...?”

“It’s because—” The three of them jumped and Dipper sighed and waited for them to actually see him standing behind them before he spoke again. “It’s because Grunkle Ford _just_ learned to speak Troll and they’re having fun using it to talk to each other.”

“They’re having _fun?_ ” Jim asked. “What about that is so _fun?_ ”

Mabel slid up to them out of seemingly nowhere. “It’s _fun,_ Jimbotron, because those two are in looooove.” She flapped her sweater arms for necessary emphasis.

“They’re in _love?_ ” Jim asked. He looked over at the two of them again. “That’s so _weird_ though. A human and a Troll?”

Mabel slung an arm around Jim’s shoulders and pulled him close. “The heart wants what the heart wants, Jim!” She sighed. “Even if Grunkle Ford and Blinky don’t seem to _realize_ they have _obvious_ crushes on each other.” She grinned and jabbed Jim in the chest. “That’s why we’re here to get _your_ help to get them to realize this and find true happiness with each _other_.”

“You can’t just force them together,” Claire pointed out.

“Are you kidding?” Mabel laughed. “They’re practically dating already! We’re not going to _force_ them into loving each other—I learned that lesson with the love potions back in Gravity Falls years ago. But they clearly already do, so we just gotta help them realize this. We already got Grunkle Stan and AAARRRGGHH!!! on board—”

Toby uncovered his ears. “Do you have to shout Argh’s name like that every time?”

“—So we just need you three now,” Mabel beamed.

Dipper shrugged. “She’s not going to give up until you say yes.”

Jim sighed. “Alright, but you’re _sure_ this isn’t some weird _magic_ thing? Your Grunkle isn’t trying to manipulate Blinky, or the two of them aren’t under some weird magic spell?”

“As far as we know, this is natural,” Dipper assured.

“Are you in?” Mabel asked. She leaned in and staged whispered. “Or are you _iiiiiin?_ ”

“We’re in,” Jim said. He glanced at Blinky and Ford once more. “I gotta admit, they _do_ look happy with each other.”

Meanwhile, in the teens’ distraction, Blinky and Ford’s conversation changed tracks.

“So that’s what the markings and tattoos on Trolls represent,” Blinky finished.

Ford smiled and nodded. “You Trolls certainly have a rich and varied culture.”

“Indeed,” Blinky said. “And I know you humans use needles and ink to tattoo your own skin. Your brother has mentioned that you possess one as well?”

Ford continued to smile. “Remind me to kill Stanley later.”

Blinky laughed. “That merely makes me more interested in seeing it.”

“Nooo, no, no, no,” Ford insisted, waving his hands. “I’d have to take off my sweater and I rather not do that.”

“Hmm,” Blinky nodded. “Yes, I understand how humans like to wear clothing. Perhaps another time.”

“But seriously,” Ford said. “Remind me to kill Stanley later.”


	5. Intervention

With how often Ford visited Trollmarket and how often Ford visited Blinky in particular, even outside overhearing the kids’ meddling to get them to realize their feelings each other, it became obvious to anyone that Blinkous Galadrigal was dating a human.

Obvious to everyone _besides_ Blinkous Galadrigal and the human, of course. Still, such matters were unusual, unnatural, and had gone on for unnecessarily long. If there was ever a time to stage an intervention, it was now. Perhaps it should have been a few weeks ago when the two of them had snuck in a luminaire for study and nearly destroyed part of the market, but the important thing that it was happening _now_.

“So that’s what was left of the [blank] Dimension,” Ford shared over his drink to an enraptured Blinky. “Which, as you can imagine, is why the name of it is the [blank] Dimension since it’s become physically impossible to ever say the name again. Anyway, after I escaped the [blank] Dimension—you’ll like this one—I ended up in the _Sock_ Dimension where everything is made of socks, even the animals, plants, and people.”

“Sounds like the greatest buffet for any Troll,” Blinky agreed.

“Yeah,” Ford laughed. “Smelled like old sweat and mothballs, though.” He frowned. “You’d think people made of socks wouldn’t be able to sweat, and I suspected they couldn’t, and I thankfully left before I could find out if their _rainwater_ happened to be—”

“Blinkous Galadrigal,” Vendel announced as he made his way up to them. “What explanation do you have for yourself _this_ time?”

Blinky stared up, affronted. “What do you mean? I’ve done absolutely nothing of interest all day for once. I’ve been talking with Ford since—”

“Exactly my point,” Vendel says. “You and your human companion have been causing quite a stir. After all, do you know how _odd_ and _unnatural_ it is for a Troll to date a _fleshbag?_ ”

Blinky and Ford both sputtered indignantly and talked over each other something to the effect of “I’m not dating _him_.” and “Why would I date a human?” and “That’s just silly. I’ve never dated before in my life.”

The latter of which helped explain some things, but still.

“So you say you _aren’t_ dating this human,” Vendel clarified. “And yet you seem to spend as much time as possible together—”

“I don’t know how long I’ll be in town,” Ford argued.

“—staring at each other as you talk—”

“It’s called being an apt and attentive listener,” Blinky said.

“—working together as closely as you seem to manage?”

“It’s more effectual for the work we’ve been doing!” Ford insisted.

Vendel stared at them. Waited. They stared back stubborn and indignant. “So,” Vendel said. “What _is_ your relationship to each other then?”

“We happen to be extremely close friends,” Blinky said.

Ford nodded. “The most like-minded friend I’ve had in decades. Not that I’ve had very many chances to _make_ friends in decades.”

“I see.” Vendel turned and walked away but called back to them as he went. “Let me know how your _friendship_ goes then.” He made it out and continued on through the market.

“Didn’t work, did it?”

Vendel turned and frowned at the _other_ human, the one who supposedly punched a Stalkling in the face while riding it after getting targeted for “petty” theft by someone on the surface the week before. He had his doubts that Stan survived a Stalkling in such a manner and he had greater doubts that whatever Stan stole was insignificant enough to justify such retaliation. Still, that was behind the point. “No. The two of them still don’t realize.”

“What I tell you?” Stan scoffed. “My brother’s denser than pumice.”

Vendel sighed. “Pumice has an _extremely_ low density.”

“Whatever,” Stan said. “If we’re gonna get the two of them together, just _telling_ them ain’t gonna work.”

“That much is obvious,” Vendel said.

“By the way...” Stan smirked. “Nice sweater. My niece is real handy with knitting needles, ain’t she?”

Vendel scowled. “I’m merely wearing this as a—”

“Blah, blah, token of tolerance for your Pines clan,” Stan mocked. “Whatever. I think it’s _my_ turn to try something to get those two together. After all, if there’s anyone I know best, it’s Ford.”

“Then by all means,” Vendel said with a dramatic sweep of his arm. “I’d love to see how _your_ attempt plays out.” He turned and continued on but stopped out of Stan’s line of sight to look down at the sweater Mabel knitted with his name stitched in on the front. “Well,” he said. “It _is_ comfortable.” Not that he would admit that loud enough for anyone to hear.


	6. Fall For Him

“Alright, kid...” Stan opened his “box of rocks”, a veritable pirate’s treasure chest most likely pilfered from a ghost ship while he and Ford were out on the ocean that Stan now used to hide the things he’s been “borrowing” from those Trolls. He swept his hand out towards them. “You read those nerd books. Which of these will do that _thing_ I want to try.”

Dipper looked over the various glowing stones and he picked one from the pile. “I think _this_ one should do it. If I remember right, this one one cause a minor concussive force. Just toss it at him and it’ll knock him over.”

“Perfect!” Stan grabbed the rock and slipped it into his pocket. “Alright, so we’ll get out there and check what everyone’s up to. There’s no possible way this will go wrong.”

“Grunkle Stan,” Dipper groaned. “You know that’s jinxing it.”

Stan rolled his eyes. “Let’s just get going before the others wonder where we are.” He shut the treasure chest and slipped it back into its hiding place and the two hurried out to meet with the other teens, the two Trolls, and Ford.

“What took you so long?” Ford asked.

“Eh,” Stan shrugged. “I’m old and the toilet ran out of paper. Had to get Dipper here to get more.”

Mabel squinted. “Grunkle Stan, did you remember to wash your hands?”

“Sure,” Stan said. “So what are we beating up today?”

One explanation and subsequent monster hunt later, Stan and Ford hid by some trees to take a breather while the others caught up to them.

“Alright,” Ford said. “I think we’ll be safe here as long as we don’t make any loud noises to give away our position.”

“You ever think we’re getting too old for this, Ford?” Stan asked.

“Sometimes,” Ford groaned. “You especially. I, at least, spent thirty years keeping in shape.”

“Ah, shut up,” Stan huffed up. “Hey, how about we see if we can find that whole _Fountain of Youth_ sometime?”

“That’s in Florida,” Ford pointed out. “You’re banned from entering the state of Florida.”

Stan grinned. “Well, I’ve got a Federal statement declaring that Stan Pines is dead and therefore can’t be banned anymore that says otherwise.”

Ford stared at him. “You know, that’s a good point. We’ll look into it sometime. Maybe Blinky would even know where it is.”

“Blinky this, Blinky that,” Stan scoffed. “Should have known the guy with six fingers would fall for the guy with six eyes, right Sixer?”

“Fall for?” Ford asked. “Nonsense, Stanley. Blinky and I just happen to be very good friends.”

“Yeah, sure,” Stan said. “That’s why you always stare at him like you wanna shtup his rut or whatever.”

“Stanley!” Ford gasped. “Do you even know what that _means?_ ”

“Do _you?_ ” Stan countered. “Look, I know you’ve never been into that kinda thing, but you _gotta_ admit, you seem pretty head over heels for the guy.”

“Why don’t you shtup up, Stan?” Ford frowned.

Stan shrugged in defeat and let Ford look away. He glanced back and smiled when he saw who was approaching. “Hey, I’ll be right back.”

“What?” Ford asked, looking up. “Why?”

“No reason,” Stan said. “Just wait here, I’ll be right back.” He hurried off behind a bush and watched and waited. He pulled the rock from his pocket... Timed the moment _just_ right...

“Ford?” Blinky asked walking up from behind the tree. “Ah, good, I thought I heard—”

A glowing rock landed a few paces away from Ford, and suddenly burst in a wave of force and sound. Ford fell back and Blinky was quick to catch him into a dip. The two stared at each other in a dull shock accented only by Stan’s loud laughter.

“Stanley!” Ford shouted and immediately righted himself before Blinky could say a word about the position. “What did I tell you about _not making loud noises?!_ ”

Stan’s laughter ended on a quiet “Uh-oh” and was soon replaced with a low growling. Just another Tuesday night, it seemed.

Later on, with the danger gone for real, Ford glared at Stan who looked anywhere else besides at his twin.

“Stan,” Ford said.

“What?” Stan asked a bit too hastily.

“I’ll forgive you for _that_ if you give me some of those rocks. I assume you have more?”

“What?” Stan squinted at him. “What for?”

Ford smiled. “The way that force blast happened I think that’s just the thing I need for the new weapon Blinky and I are putting together.”

“Riiiight,” Stan said. “I’ll get you those rocks, then.” He smirked. “But you gotta admit... You _did_ fall for him tonight.”

“Shut up.”


	7. Back to the Bump

It took some tinkering during the day while the kids were at school over the course of a couple of weeks, but the two of them finally put together the newest invention: a gun that fires off concussive blasts using those stones Stan had stolen as a power source. The only thing left to do was test it.

With the target set and Ford standing ready and bracing for recoil, Ford aimed and lightly squeezed the trigger...

_B O O M_

The force was stronger than Ford anticipated, though understandably so given the modifications they made. Ford slid back into Blinky who caught him and kept him steady while the blast hit its mark and caused the target to burst from the force and sent the rock it sat on flying off and over a ledge.

Ford stayed in Blinky’s arms for a moment, with his head still reeling from the blast, and he then righted himself. The two shared a look of glee and began laughing. And why not? The weapon worked like a charm, they got to cause a small explosion, everything about the entire situation was exciting.

And then... Working almost in-sync, Blinky bent his head down while Ford stood on his toes, and the two of them bumped foreheads. And they both froze in place instantly.

Several things ran through Ford’s mind in that quick moment. For one thing, this wasn’t a normal thing that humans did (well maybe it was, but not the humans _he_ knew of course). In fact, this seemed more like a thing that _Trolls_ did. In fact, it _was_ a thing Trolls did, that he just did almost instinctively, with his Troll friend. What’s more is that it was a thing Trolls did to show affection, and judging from how stock still and silent Blinky was, he hadn’t been expecting Ford to do that either.

They both pulled away from each other also almost in-sync and returned to their normal heights. They stumbled over their words for a moment, talking over each other in short syllables before Ford cleared his throat and motioned to the gun still in his hand.

“I think this might be a bit _too_ strong on the recoil for human use,” he said. “Maybe one of you Trolls could handle it better. Sturdier and all.”

“Right, yes, I agree.” Blinky looked over at the remains of the target. “Though perhaps we ought to lower the intensity anyway. Imagine if someone were to miss their target or if someone got in the way...”

Ford glanced over as well. “Right, that’s. Right.”

Ford looked flustered, Blinky could tell that much. Or maybe he was projecting because of how flustered he was. He shouldn’t have initiated a head bump—he knew that some humans did that as a way to show camaraderie, albeit usually at their sporting events while wearing safety pads and heavy helmets. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure why he had initiated to start with. The excitement got to him, he acted on impulse, and now he was flustered because Ford couldn’t possibly know the significance to a head bump in Troll culture.

This was _Vendel’s_ fault, Blinky decided just as Ford determined the blame to be on Stan.

If _he_ hadn’t gotten the idea in my head about _dating_ him, they both thought.

We’re _just_ friends, they both thought.

He only sees me as a friend, they both thought.

Why would I want to date my friend? they both thought.

Blinky snapped out of his thoughts moments before Ford. “Why don’t we pick this up again later?” he asked. “I just remembered I have— Oh— Pressing Troll business to attend to, yes.”

“Right, agreed,” Ford nodded and packed away the gun. “I should make sure Stanley’s not getting into trouble anyway. Maybe recalibrate the blaster in my workshop.”

“Right,” Blinky said.

“Right,” Ford agreed.

They both hurried away from each other, both muttering a “right, right” as they walked away.

Meanwhile, Draal shook his head from where he watched the scene with AAARRRGGHH!!!. “That was clearly a show of affection and yet they both are still in denial,” he commented. “I can’t even tell if it’s cowardice or ignorance at this point.”

“Stubborn,” AAARRRGGHH!!! said. “Don’t think it would work.”

“How would it not work?” Draal asked. “It’s not like Blinkous Galadrigal isn’t known to have a soft spot for the fleshbags at this point. And _this_ one knows Troll affection instead of that _kiss_ thing.”

AAARRRGGHH!!! gave Draal a look. “You help get them together?”

Draal rubbed his chin and then smiled. “Maybe if we gave one of them a Grit Shaka...”

“ _No_ ,” AAARRRGGHH!!! frowned.

“Merely a jest,” Draal laughed. He frowned as well. “But they should best figure it out soon. The human _he’s_ interested in is late in age. I doubt he will live for more than another few decades, _if_ that with the amount of danger all these humans face.”


	8. Meddling Kids

“Dipper!” Toby laughed. “Magic man! What’cha got for us?”

Dipper sighed and pulled a _thick_ book from his vest—the others wondered how exactly but this kid wasn’t their magic expert for nothing—and dropped it onto the table with a dull thud. “Okay, so it took some digging around, but I _think_ I found a way we can do that _thing_ Mabel wanted to do...”

“Yes,” Mabel cheered and pulled Dipper into a hug. “Knew I could count on you, Bro-Bro.”

Claire shook her head. “Are we really going to do this...?”

“It’ll be fine,” Dipper assured while flipping through the pages of the book. “I promise, it’ll be temporary! Just as long as he’s not in sunlight when it wears off... And you said he’s had this happen before, right? So he has experience.”

“We’re going to _ask_ him first, right?” Jim asked. “It happened by _accident_ last time, and I’m not sure we want him going into it without knowing about it beforehand.”

Mabel rubbed her hands together calculatively. “I think _Mabel_ knows how to get him to see how fun of an idea this will be...”

“Here it is,” Dipper said. He pointed at the incantation on the page. “See? It’s easy, just a simple incantation. Most likely with less trouble than that time I recited the incantation that raised an army of zombies.”

“You did what now?” Toby squinted. “You are a strange man, Dipper Pines.”

Jim looked over the incantation and wrinkled his nose. “What kind of incantation _is_ this? Turnem hu—” He stopped when Dipper covered his mouth with his hand.

“Ah, stop, stop,” Dipper said before uncovering Jim’s mouth. “You don’t want to accidentally cast it without a target. Learned _that_ the hard way too. Trust me, I know it _sounds_ silly but these things actually _work_.”

Jim shook his head. “You know, half the time I don’t know if you’re telling the truth or just saying a lot of crap.”

Mabel gasped dramatically. “ _Jim!_ You said a _cuss word!_ ”

“We’re in high school,” Claire reminded.

“That’s not even a cuss word,” Jim frowned.

“Maybe around _here_ ,” Mabel said. “But I’ll have you know, we don’t use that kind of potty language in Piedmont.”

“Mabel,” Dipper sighed. “Just let them have this round.”

Mabel pouted. “ _Fine_. But I better not catch Dipper learning any naughty words from you. He’s _very_ impressionable.”

“ _Mabel_ ,” Dipper groaned.

Mabel grinned. “Kidding, Dip-Dop. So after school we’ll go and see if he wants to do it?”

“How long does the incantation last for anyway?” Toby asked.

Dipper glanced up when he saw someone coming. He shut the book and slipped it back into the mysterious void that made up his vest. He waited for them to pass by before he continued. “It’s one of those 24 hours try-it-for-a-day-before-buying-the-full-license deals. If we do it at after sunset, then it’ll last till after sunset the next day. He just needs to get back before it wears off.” He stood up and then winced and sat back down. “Oh, also. _Might_ want to make sure he has some _clothes_ since, uh... _You know_.”

Mabel giggled. “They’re going to have so much _fun!_ ”

“And,” Toby said. “Just so we’re clear... This _won’t_ end up with us summoning zombies or something, right?”

“Don’t worry,” Dipper grinned. “The raising the undead incantation was in Journal 3. And we threw _that_ into the bottomless pit in Gravity Falls _years_ ago. Unless it got spat back out somewhere in Oregon and somehow magically found it’s way down here, you won’t have to worry about _that_ incantation ever being used.”

Mabel poked Dipper in the arm repeatedly. “And _Dipper_ doesn’t have to worry about anyone reading the embarrassing things he wrote about _Wendyyyy_.”

“Mabel!” Dipper hissed. “Shhh! That was three years ago! I was a stupid kid back then!” The bell rang and he stood again. “Okay, I need to get to class. I can’t be late for Mr. Sachs’ English class a _third_ time in a row.”

“We’ll meet up after school,” Claire waved. She sighed. “And hopefully this _doesn’t_ end up with us fighting zombies.”


	9. Pants

“[And then I killed Homestuck!](https://youtu.be/nYCZgrLkLg4?t=2m8s)” Stan regaled to the listening audience of Trolls around him. He downed his drink with ease and slammed the tankard down. “And then...” He glanced past the doorway where a certain group of teens were hurrying past. “Hold that thought,” he said. “Something came up.”

The teens, meanwhile, made their way through Trollmarket to where Blinky was hiding away with his face in a book. Not reading the book but rather with the book spread on the table and his face resting in it. Dipper leaned over to Jim and whispered.

“Uhh, is he alright?” he asked.

“Blinky?” Jim asked before jumping when Blinky’s head shot up.

“Oh!” Blinky cleared his throat and closed the book and pushed it away. “I was just... Ahem.”

“No Ford today, huh?” Toby asked. “Aren’t you two, like, inseparable or something?”

“No, no, Ford went home early,” Blinky said. “Our test of the blaster went magnificently and we— That is, we determined some modifications needed to be made and Ford took the blaster home to his workshop.”

Mabel blew a raspberry. “Boooo. You did something _embarrassing_ and got _embarrassed,_ didn’t you?”

“Nooo,” Blinky insisted. “No, no, no, of course not. Nothing of the sort.”

“Sure you didn’t,” Claire smiled knowingly. “Anyway, Blinky, I think _Dipper_ happens to have something for you?”

“Something for me?” Blinky asked.

Dipper cleared his throat and stepped forward. He pulled out his book again and began flipping pages. “Well, _Mabel_ pointed out how Grunkle Ford only ever sees you either here or on the surface at night, and the others said how you were temporarily human before and, uh...”

Blinky frowned and stood. “You want to turn me human again...? _How?_ ”

“Just for a day!” Dipper squeaked. “The incantation lasts twenty-four hours and so by this time tomorrow night, you’ll be back to normal. It’s just an incantation I found—and I’ve used it before so I know it works—”

Mabel laughed. “What Dipper is _trying_ to say is that don’t you want to spend a day out in the sun with Grunkle Ford for at least _one_ day?”

Blinky glanced over the book in Dipper’s hand. “And where did you find the incantation?”

“Oh, you know...” Dipper winced. “You follow in your Great Uncle’s footsteps and you end up finding all sorts of weird or magical things. Our old school had a field trip to Europe one year and I picked it up somewhere there.”

“Did you raise the undead _there_ too?” Toby muttered.

“Shut up about the zombies,” Dipper hissed.

“ _Anyway_ ,” Jim said. “You don’t _have_ to do this, Blinky. But if you do it’d be a nice surprise for Ford...”

“He doesn’t know you’re doing this?” Blinky asked.

“Duuuuh,” Mabel said. “That’s why it’s a _surprise_. Come on, what’s the worst that will happen?”

“Well—”

Mabel blew another raspberry. “ _Nothing_ , that’s what. Nothing could _possibly_ go wrong. It’s just for _one_ day, anyway. Don’t you want to see the look on Grunkle Ford’s face when you show up at his doorstep for one _magical_ day as _human?_ ”

The offer was _definitely_ tempting, though Blinky had enough reservations to fill an entire restaurant. But Mabel looked wide-eyed and pleading, Jim, Claire, and Toby looked encouraging, and Dipper... Well, he truthfully wanted to see whether or not Dipper’s so-called “incantation” would work. But the Pines family was always full of surprises, such as Ford being—

“Alright,” Blinky said before he finished his thought. “Just this _one_ day and then _never_ again.”

Dipper let out a sigh of relief and then cleared his throat. “Alright then...” He looked down at the page in his book and read aloud. “Turnem human foraday, Bonen fleshen hairif weemay... Ooga wooga: Blinkous Galadrigal.”

Blinky squinted. “What kind of—” Well, that sudden glow was not something he expected.

Stan marched into the room. “Kids, what kind of nonsense—” He stared and then quickly covered Mabel and Claire’s eyes. “ _Dipper_ ,” he growled. “You _better_ get that man some _pants_.”

Jim and Toby both stared, slack jawed.

“That actually worked,” Jim said. “That _actually_ worked.”

Toby laughed nervously. “You actually _are_ a magic man...”

“I _told_ you,” Dipper said, shutting his book in a huff.

“Dipper!” Stan and Blinky both shouted. “ _Pants!_ ”


	10. Ford's Reaction

After getting Blinky dressed, everyone did their best to sneak through Trollmarket without making a scene to get back to the surface only to be stopped by Vendel who demanded to know what nonsense they were getting into that time. Mabel explained the situation and her plan, Blinky smiled and waved nervously but stayed as quiet as he could, and Vendel demanded to see the incantation Dipper had used. Dipper pulled out his book again and flipped to the right page practically by instinct at this point and warned Vendal not to read it out loud. Vendel looked over the words and then looked up at Dipper incredulously.

“And this actually _worked?_ ” he demanded. “You didn’t use any potions or other methods?”

“I don’t get why it’s so hard to believe!” Dipper said. “This is exactly like the kind of incantations I’ve been using since reading the ones in Grunkle Ford’s journal in Gravity Falls.”

“And _where_ did you procure this incantation?”

“Europe,” Dipper answered.

“ _Where_ in _Europe?_ ” Vendel frowned.

The look on Dipper’s face could only be described as suspicious, nervous, and sweaty. Vendel sighed and shut the book and held it back out but pulled it out of Dipper’s reach when he tried to grab it.

“Don’t let me find out your journal has gotten into the wrong hands,” Vendel ordered. “The fact your magic is so _simple_ yet so effective is worrying.”

“Well,” Toby smirked. “The kid _did_ raise the undead once.”

“ _Shhh!_ ” Dipper waved indignantly at Toby. “I was _twelve_.”

Vendel shook his head and finally gave back the book. He frowned at Blinky. “As for _you_...”

“Yes, Vendel...?” Blinky asked through a fake grin.

Vendel smiled. “Enjoy your day with your human companion.”

“With his _boyfriend_ ,” Mabel giggled.

“He’s not...” Blinky sighed. “He’s not _either_ of those things.”

“Suuure, he isn’t,” Stan smirked. “Alright, buddy, let’s get you to your Prince Nerdlord.”

One long, embarrassing trip through the night later, the group got Blinky to Stan and Ford’s temporary home and Stan let them in and immediately called into the other room.

“Hey, Sixer!” he shouted. “You still moping about embarrassing yourself earlier or what?”

“I’m not _moping_ , Stanley!” Ford shouted back. “I’m in the middle of important work that—”

“Save it for later!” Stan called. “The kids have a _surprise_ for you.”

“What...?” A few moments later, Ford appeared in the doorway and looked over everyone. He frowned at the stranger sitting with them. “Oh, uh... Who is this.... Person?”

Blinky stood and walked over. “Ford, it’s me... Blinky...”

Ford stared for a moment and then slammed the door in Blinky and Stan’s face.

“ _Ford!_ ” Stan growled. “You get back here, you coward!”

“I’ve fought countless monsters in the Nightmare Realm!” Ford shouted back, muffled behind the closed door. “I doubt I’m a _coward_ , Stan!”

“Nightmare Realm?” Blinky asked but Stan shook his head.

The door opened again a moment later with Ford noticeably cleaner and with his hair neatened out. He smiled. “Anyway... Blinky! You’re... _human?_ How? What did you do?”

Jim pointed to Dipper. “Dips has some weird incantation he got from ‘Europe’ that is supposed to turn Blinky human for 24 hours.”

Ford’s grin widened as it turned onto Dipper. “You _found_ the mythical Human-For-A-Day spell crafted by Yurrow the Peaun?” He frowned. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“Uh— Well—” Dipper pulled out his book and held it up again. “I’ve been keeping a journal. See?”

“I’m surprised it worked,” Ford laughed. “Yurrow’s spells are said to have some flaw that usually keeps them from working as intended.”

“What was that?” Blinky asked, frowning and looking back at Dipper in concern.

 “It’s fine, it’s fine!” Dipper insisted. “I’ve used this spell before. It works like a charm.”

Claire cleared her throat and stood up. “Anyway, Mr. Ford, we thought you and Blinky might enjoy a day in the sun together for once...” She handed out a sheet of paper. “Mabel and I put together some suggestions for how you can spend the day tomorrow.”

Ford took the list and skimmed over it. “Why do half of these things look like the kinds of places Stanley has taken people on dates?”

“Nooo reason,” Mabel said. She winked obnoxiously multiple times to indicate there was a definite reason.

“Anyway,” Toby said. “We should probably let you have some _privacy_ now.” He grinned and waved. “Have _fun_ tomorrow. Let us know how it goes.”

The kids all rushed out the door and left the three men behind.

“Hey, Poindexter,” Stan said.

“What?” Ford asked.

“We don’t have a spare bed for Blinky here,” Stan said. “Unless you want to share.”

Ford and Blinky’s eyes both widened considerably.

“I’ll sleep on the couch,” Ford said instantly. “There problem solved. Problem _solved_.”


	11. Human for a Day

“Hey, Dipper?” Mabel asked on the way back home. “That spell _does_ work, right?”

“Yeah, of course,” Dipper answered. “Why wouldn’t it work—?”

“Dipper,” Mabel laughed. “Jim’s not here. You don’t have to show off for him.”

Dipper let out his breath. “It works, trust me. As long as Grunkle Ford doesn’t say anything like ‘I like your _real_ form better’, then it’ll last the full 24 hours.”

Mabel stopped in her tracks. “Hey, Dip-Dop...?”

Dipper stopped a few paces after and looked back at her. “Follow them around tomorrow to make sure Grunkle Ford doesn’t say that?”

Mabel winked. “You got it. Aaaand, maybe let’s _not_ tell the others. Don’t want them to worry.”

“Do you still have that flash-shadow thing we picked up when we were fourteen?”

“Ooh, yeah, I’ll bring that too.”

The next morning, Ford woke up to the surprise of Stan making breakfast and chatting with Blinky while they waited for Ford to join. He was almost convinced he dreamt the whole “human Blinky” thing, but waking up with a crick in his back from sleeping on the couch all night was enough indication it was real even prior to the definite proof of Blinky sitting next to them and thoroughly enjoying the meal. Ford eagerly joined the conversation and ate his own meal up until Stan sent him to change into some “nice clothes” for his “date with Blinky.” Ford and Blinky sputtered indignantly to which Stan corrected “ _Sorry_ , I meant _day_ with Blinky” though it was clear he didn’t mean that.

Still, Ford and Blinky were soon out for a day in town in the sunlight and without a plan aside from the one clearly set up for them by the kids.

The walk in the park went well... up until someone threw bread in their direction and they got attacked by geese. But sitting out of harm’s way with in the branches of some tree with Blinky did let them have some to contemplate how nice everything looked in the sunlight. As soon as the geese got bored and left, Ford and Blinky slipped down from the tree and moved onto the next thing on the list.

Milkshakes were _some_ kind of experience, to say the least. Apparently _someone_ had ordered for them already (“Mabel,” Ford sighed), and so they ended up sitting outside with a single large milkshake with two straws to share. Ford didn’t know if Blinky knew the romantic connotations, but that definitely wasn’t enough to stop either of them of trying the milkshake (after all, Mabel may have ordered but Ford was the one who had to pay for it).

Someone passing by made a small “awww” at them as they went, and Ford drank too quickly out of embarrassment at apparently the same time as Blinky. The resulting brainfreeze was probably the worst of it.

“Not as bad as the geese,” Blinky commented.

“That’s because geese are demons,” Ford grumbled.

“What’s next on the list?” Blinky asked.

The rest of the day went rather smoothly. No more being attacked by animals that made demon pacts or doing something that caused either of them pain. (That said, Ford kept seeing two _very_ familiar figures dart in and out of his peripheral vision. He’d have to have a talk with them later. They were skipping school for this.) Eventually, the two of them ended up on a hillside overlooking the city as the sun set in the distance. They sat on bench together to watch it. Ford glanced down at Blinky’s hand resting next to his and wondered if he should hold it...

But no, that was just the whole “everyone thinks you’re dating” impulsiveness talking. He wasn’t even sure if Blinky would appreciate holding hands.

Meanwhile, Blinky was less focused on the sunset than the first time he had seen one and more concentrated on whether or not he should hold Ford’s hand. It was _right there_ , right next to his. It would be so _easy_ , but would it be welcome? Would it just serve to embarrass Ford? He needed to do something else to stop from obsessing over it. “So what do you think?” he asked.

“Hmm?” Ford asked as he snapped out of his reverie about the logistics of hand holding with differing amounts of fingers. “About what?”

“This,” Blinky said. He clarified. “I mean, about me being human. It may only be for a day but... If I’m being honest, you didn’t seem very impressed when you first saw me last night.”

“Oh, _that_ ,” Ford frowned. “Well, it was more shocking than anything. The fact Dipper found that spell is amazing. I had been looking for Yurrow’s spells for ages since so many of them are scattered or lost to the ages...” He smiled. “But I digress. To be honest, I may not have seemed impressed about you being human but that’s because I’ve always—”

“Wait!” a small voice called, but it went unheard.

“—liked you as you are as a _Troll_.”

The commotion of Dipper suddenly diving in with a tarp just as Blinky began to change from human back into a Troll suddenly, accented by a large shadow instantly casting over them despite the sun still setting was enough for Ford to realize that _just maybe_ he said the wrong thing and broke the spell.

“Grunkle Ford,” Mabel scolded from where she lay perched above them in a tree branch and holding what _looked_ like a flashlight but casting out shadows instead. “You picked a _bad_ time to be romantic.”

Blinky looked over himself and his four arms and frowned at Dipper who blocked out the rest of the sunlight that the flash-shadow missed with the tarp. “I thought you said the spell would last _24_ hours.”

“It does!” Dipper insisted. “But— But there are things that can break the spell early and, uh... Grunkle Ford seems to have found it.”

Ford frowned. “Is _that_ why you two were following us around all day? I thought it was because you just wanted to spy on us.”

“That too,” Mabel said. “It was kind of a two birds one stone thing.” She pouted. “But now we gotta stay like this until the sun sets and my _nose itches_.”

“Sorry, Grunkle Ford,” Dipper groaned. “I should have just told you to start with.”

Ford sighed. “Well, Blinky’s not dead—this time—so I think we can forgive you _as long as_ you give us _full disclosure_ on whatever other spells you use in the future.”

“Are you going to hold hands?” Mabel asked with a smirk. “I could see how you two were trying to inch your hands closer. Grunkle Ford, now you have so many to choose from!”

Ford sighed. Again. “No, we are not holding hands.” He looked over to see Blinky frowning in what vaguely seemed like disappointment and Ford decided not to voice how disappointed he was in himself as well.


	12. Obligatory DnD References

In-between fighting against evil beings or getting up to life threatening shenanigans, it was good to take some time to relax and unwind — by fighting against evil beings and getting into life threatening shenanigans from behind the safety of throwing dice and shuffling around papers. That said, Ford was long looking forward to DMing this session of Dungeons, Dungeons, and More Dungeons now that he introduced Blinky to it. Dipper was just as eager to play as ever and they somehow roped Stan into playing (though he denied the incident with the infinity dice being of any contribution to his desire to play). They also somehow found a third player in Draal who naturally picked a fighter character and named him Daank Meems.

“What?” Draal had asked at the teens’ laughter. “It’s a mighty name for a warrior.”

“Nothing,” Mabel had told him. She turned to the others and whispered loud enough for Draal to hear. “No one tell him.”

Not that anyone told Ford or Stan what was so funny about that name either, but it didn’t matter in the long run. Daank Meems earned himself a reputation across their fantasy lands for his actions that seemed to spread by word of mouth almost infectiously and— that’s beside the point.

In today’s session, Ford was now able to introduce a plot line he had been working towards since they had started playing.

“Drof,” Ford said to Blinky who smiled in wait. “You hear your name called and look up to see that it’s none other than Princess Unattainable—”

“Oh boy,” Stan groaned.

Ford glared at him. “—who approaches your party. She laments how long she had been waiting to meet the wise and powerful and handsome—”

Draal sighed in exasperation and shared a look with Stan.

He gritted his teeth. “—wizard, Drof Galadrigal. She goes on to say how someone with a mind like yours is hard to come by and how she would love to have you and the others over for dinner—”

Dipper buried his face in his hands mumbling something about “this is worse than me with Wendy.”

Ford paused for a moment to rub his temples and then picked up again. “And so you are beckoned to follow Princess Unattainable—”

“More like Prince _Nerdlord_ ,” Stan mumbled.

Ford frowned. “What was that, Stanley?”

Stan smirked. “I said I doubt Princess Unattainabelle’s motives and aim my short bow at her.”

Dipper shook his head. “Grunkle Stan, you can’t just—”

“Daank Meems also readies his sword,” Draal added.

Blinky glanced from the others to Ford. “I... wait to see what Princess Unattainabelle does?”

Ford flattened his brow and glared at Stan and Draal. “Well, everyone roll for _initiative_ since, I _guess_ , Princess Unattainabelle sees you pull out your weapons and says ‘oh, so you’ve seen through my disguise’ and removes her illusion to reveal herself to be Probabilitor the Annoying. Who, I might add, you _weren’t supposed to discover this quickly_.”

Stan laughed. “Man, are you bad at flirting. Using the _guy who eats brains_ to call your boyfriend smart? What kind of nerd does that?”

Blinky squinted. “He _eats brains?_ ”

“Yeah,” Dipper groaned. “We met him in person once when Grunkle Ford’s infinity-sided die accidentally rolled on whatever side summoned him into reality.”

Draal shook his head. “I do not want to know the extent of what nonsense you Pines’ clan have gone through.”

Ford picked up his die. “That doesn’t matter just roll for initiative.”

Stan picked up his own die and rolled it across his knuckles. “I think _you_ ought to roll for initiative for when you put the moves on Blinky, Sixer.”

Ford threw his die down. “That’s it, you old fool, I’m not afraid to throw punches at the DD&MD table.”

Stan threw his die at Ford’s head. “Bring it, Poindexter!”

Dipper pulled his hat over his eyes. “This is going to happen _every_ time, isn’t it?”

“Why do you think I still come to these games?” Draal smirked.

Blinky sighed and shook his head. After a pause, he asked. “ _Was_ he flirting, though?”

Draal laughed. “What do _you_ think?”

Blinky said nothing more and instead went back to watching the old man fist fight happening in front of everyone.


	13. So Close

There was something interesting in watching the humans dance, particularly in watching Ford teach Dipper and Mabel different dances from across numerous different dimensions. Ford had thirty long years to pick up a few steps and fancy footwork—his words, naturally. Still, Blinky found himself staring at their antics and he watched as Dipper struggled remembering which step went first and watched as Mabel changed the dance every time to suit her wild style and “funky fresh beats”. Ford laughed and showed them his own moves and the three of them were clearly having a good time together.

Blinky found himself twitching from some sort of nervous anticipation watching them. Things hadn’t been the same since that day with the blaster and the following day when he had been human. It felt like he and Ford were going through the motions of acquaintanceship far more than they had when they were actually only acquaintances. Something was keeping them apart and it was very likely the remaining awkwardness of everyone trying to interfere with their perfectly good friendship. That had to be it.

He looked to the side as someone moved up beside him and he grinned. “Argh!” he laughed. “What brings you here?”

AAARRRGGHH!!! watched the Pines family and their dances for a moment. “Ask him to dance,” he said.

“Ask...?” Blinky shook his head. “Ask Ford to dance? Don’t be silly. He’s... I mean...”

“You wussing out,” AAARRRGGHH!!! said with a smile.

It took some effort not to huff up indignantly. “No, I’m not wussing out,” Blinky said. “I’m merely analyzing my options and meditating on what effect any inference to—”

“You wussing out,” AAARRRGGHH!!! repeated. “Go ask him.”

Blinky sputtered indignantly. “But where would I even _begin_ to— Oh you and the others will not give up until I do this, will you? Don’t answer, that smirk says enough. Fine, just this once I’ll play into your games. Don’t think I can’t tell what you’re up to.” He turned away, now for sure in a huff, and he marched up to Ford and cleared his throat. “Ford...”

“Blinky!” Ford smiled. He set Mabel down and then seemed to hesitate, or maybe that was Blinky’s imagination. He cleared his throat as well. “Uh... How can I help you...?”

Mabel and Dipper smirked to each other and slipped away over to AAARRRGGHH!!! while the other two were busy staring at each other.

“Well,” Blinky said. “I noticed you teaching your niece and nephew to dance...”

“Yes...?” Ford asked.

“Well...” Blinky said again. “Would... If you don’t mind that is... If there were possibly...” He sighed. “Could you teach _me_ one of these dances?”

Ford froze in place, eyes wide, but he blinked out of it and nodded. “Yes, of course! I would love to! Oh, which one...? I know plenty, though some of them would be more difficult. _Definitely_ not Sirinian Snake Dancing—I am in no way flexible enough for that anymore.” He looked over to where Mabel seemed to be mouthing something at him while Dipper dug out an old stereo system and CD. “Oh... How about a waltz...?”

Mabel flashed thumbs up and Blinky smiled.

“Alright,” he said. “Where do we begin...?”

Dipper got the music playing and Ford looked over Blinky.

“Hmm,” Ford hummed. “Never did a simple waltz with someone with four arms, but... Alright, so I’ll hold this hand.”

Mabel squealed in delight.

“And you place that hand on my shoulder,” Ford continued. He placed his other hand onto Blinky’s back. “And... Not sure about your other two...”

“If I may?” Blinky asked. He placed his lower two hands on Ford’s waist. “Does that work?”

“That’s fine,” Ford all but squeaked. He cleared his throat and smiled a little nervously. “Alright, and now for the footwork...”

It started simple and slow. Forward and back again, around in a circle. Soon enough they graduated to something more complex. They worked in time with each other, in-sync with each other, and it got to the point where they were able to dance the different moves to the different points in the music without confirmation that the other knew that move. They danced around together in laughter and joy, and others began to gather around and cheer them on. _Finally,_ these two were doing something intimate with each other again.

Eventually the song ended and Ford breathed heavily to try and catch his breath. He grinned up at Blinky. “You sly devil,” he laughed. “You already knew the dances. You didn’t need me teaching you.”

Blinky laughed as well. “I’ve been around long enough to have picked up _some_ things. Though I wouldn’t have gotten the execution nearly as well without your tutelage.”

Ford chuckled and looked over to the crowd and particularly to Dipper, Mabel, and AAARRRGGHH!!! where they were high-fiving each other. “I think _they_ set us up.”

Blinky shook his head. “They really think we’re in a relationship. But we’re just friends, aren’t we?”

“Of course,” Ford nodded. “Why wouldn’t we be just friends?”

The crowd all groaned and several of them threw out some insults or curses in Troll and one shout of “you made me lose the bet!”

Ford pulled away and tucked his hands behind his back. “Well. I should probably go... check on Stan now...”

“Yes,” Blinky said. “And I have some business to attend to as well.”

“We should do this again sometime, though,” Ford added.

Blinky smiled. “Yes, I agree. We should.”


	14. Things in the Past

The others wondered why Ford and Blinky were so clearly hesitant to admit that their care for each other went beyond normal friendship, and on their end Ford and Blinky wondered too. However, there was a particular series of events that prevented the admission that at best involved a casual faux pas - and at worst involved foolishly summoning a demon that led to the near destruction of an entire town, perhaps the world, and more frighteningly, the near death of Ford’s family.

Naturally, Ford didn’t like to talk about it, but early into his friendship with Blinky, Blinky had asked about the odd comment he overheard Stan mention to Ford about a “Weirdmaggedon 2”. Ford had given the casual answer of “You almost accidentally throw the world into chaos and destruction one time” that seemed less humorous in retrospect, but Blinky didn’t press on again. But then in their later conversations, Ford mentioned the different dimensions he had travelled to and Blinky asked how Ford accomplished such a feat. Once again, Ford didn’t know how to answer without proving how much of a fool he was.

“It’s a long story,” he decided on. “Stan’s not within hearing distance, is he?”

“No, not right now,” Blinky said.

“Good,” Ford said. “Because I’m worried what would happen if he remembered _his_ real name. We told him he killed Homestuck just in case, since we don’t want to risk the memory of him returning and bringing him back...”

“Memory of who?” Blinky asked.

“A horrible demon named...” Ford paused, not for dramatic effect for once but rather to make absolutely _certain_ that Stan wasn’t around. “Bill Cipher,” he whispered.

“Who?” Blinky asked. A short moment after he seemed to recognize the name. “Oh, right! We know of him!”

“You do?” Ford paled.

“Yes!” Blinky nodded. “He’s the annoying, shouting triangle that kept trying to convince us to do some sort of nonsense building some strange device. He was more of a pest than the gnomes, but turned out to be absolutely harmless when we simply ignored him.” He laughed. “Honestly, why anyone would give that vexatious triangle any precedence is beyond me. What could he even do?”

Ford’s face probably said _something_ if Blinky’s laughter slowly fading was anything to go by. Ford caught himself, forced a smile, and changed the subject. “Anyway, all that aside, a colleague and I managed to construct a portal to other dimensions and I spent thirty years navigating these dimensions before Stan brought me back...”

He decided it was best not to bring up anything about Bill or Weirdmaggedon ever again. In the back of Ford’s mind, he wasn’t sure if that was to save face from embarrassment or in order to push back any remaining fears he had about the tortures he dealt with from Bill’s hands. Either way, he knew where Blinky wouldn’t how much Bill had ruined Ford’s ability to trust to the point that, even though he had improved so much since reuniting and making up with his brother and family, he still couldn’t bring himself to risk the same mistakes that brought about all that pain to start with.

He would in _no_ way call it a _crush_. Much in the same way that Ford wouldn’t call what he felt for Blinky a crush. That wasn’t even denial and regret speaking; it was not a crush and Ford didn’t have the vocabulary to describe what it was.

Bill tempted him with knowledge and ideas and acted like a close friend and companion, but all that had been a ruse that Ford fell for in more ways than one. It wasn’t “love”; not in the traditional sense. He had a deep appreciation Bill and what he offered and gave, and he didn’t use the idea of Bill being his “muse” lightly. It was the closest relationship Ford had had with anyone, as opposed to romance as he was.

And it blew up in his face and left physical and emotional scars on not just him but also his brother and a couple of young children. No matter how much he could trust Blinky—no matter how different the circumstances were and how much wiser he was or how much closer he felt with Blinky than Bill—there was absolutely no way he could make such drastic a mistake again. There was no way he was going to be put into a position where being in a relationship with Blinky would be used against him.

And probably the worst of it was that he couldn’t even admit this to anyone. So how could he expect anyone to understand?


	15. Journal 3

Be it by providence or coincidence, things thought lost forever have a way of finding themselves travelling to either where they need to be or where they want to be. Cryptic books about a strange town in the Pacific Northwest are particularly susceptible to this kind of travel, and not even a natural weirdness magnet can stop their journey. The number of hands the book must have passed through was innumerable, and the details of how it got to where it was now indecipherable. But be it by providence or coincidence, Blinkous Galadrigal somehow had a strange journal in front of him with a gold six-finger hand pasted to the front and a number 3 written on it.

He recognized the handwriting and field sketches easily, even if the author of the journal had improved since the date these sketches were made. Blinky “accidentally forgot” to tell Ford that he had somehow found the journal, just like he accidentally forgot to tell any of the other humans. If all went well, there would never be any need to bring up this journal or it’s contents, but perhaps Blinky would have some more understanding of Ford and what his research entailed. Seeing things from a human perspective was refreshing and reading the entries was entertaining.

At first.

Given the number of glowing rocks in Trollmarket, one of them reacting to invisible ink and revealing secrets was to be expected, even if not expected in _this_ journal. Blinky discovered it early on and just set the tone for the rest of the reading.

Especially as he got deeper and deeper in. Especially as he sank into the hole of obsession reading each page, reading the invisible text, translating what he could of the codes and ciphers.

And of course, then there was Ford’s plight with another Cipher, this time with a capital C.

Blinky had almost forgotten the one time Ford mentioned Bill’s name around him, but after wondering why it sounded familiar he recalled the odd aside about Bill that Ford never elaborated on. More importantly he recalled the way he had dismissed it so simply. He could kick himself now.

The journal easily showed the gradual demise of a fragile human manipulated by forces with more power than said human knew or could comprehend. And Blinky had _laughed_ and said things in ignorance that made a mockery of Ford’s plight.

Luckily, he had some relief when the journal found its way into Dipper’s hands. The entries were once more refreshing and entertaining... until Bill showed up again. The fact Bill possessed Dipper’s body and had been planning to destroy it... That alone was enough to pin Bill as a monster.

He read on. He got to Ford’s return to this dimension. He read through his adventures in the different dimensions and saw the illustration of the tattoo he hadn’t wanted Blinky to see, and Blinky smiled remembering Ford’s embarrassment about it.

He read through it all, front to back, several times to ensure he caught everything. He then hid the book away before he could be caught with it and paced around as he pondered what to do with the new information floating around his head.

There was _one_ thing he could do, though he wasn’t sure how it would be received. Still, he was willing to try and see where things branched off from there.

“Master Jim... I don’t suppose you could procure some of these _jelly beans_ for me, could you...?”


	16. Jelly Beans

Ford walked through Trollmarket and noticed the amount of Trolls going out of their way to ignore him. That had him teetering on the edge of suspicion and paranoia... He knew it had to do with the dance from the other day, but he couldn’t fathom why everyone was so invested in his relationship with Blinky. Perhaps because it was something new, perhaps because they had been waiting so long for the conclusion... It was hard to say, but Ford didn’t like it but couldn’t voice those concerns until he got to where Blinky was waiting.

“Ford!” Blinky smiled as he approached. “Perfect timing! Close your eyes and hold out your hands.”

Ford did so without question.

“...You’re so trusting,” Blinky observed. All the same, he placed the two objects in Ford’s hands. “Okay, open your eyes.”

Ford blinked his eyes open and found one hand was now holding one of Blinky’s hands and the other held a small bag of jelly beans.

“Oh!” Ford smiled and laughed. “How did you know I like these? I never mentioned it to you.”

“I have my ways,” Blinky grinned. He motioned to the seat next to him. “Here, sit down. I have something to admit.”

Ford’s smile disappeared. He did as told and took his other hand back to open the bag of jelly beans. Darn new plastic materials and their perfectly sealed nature making it difficult to open...

“I know about Bill Cipher—” Blinky stopped then the jelly bean bag practically exploded and sent beans scattering across the table.

Ford stared for a moment to process what just happened and what was just said. He gathered up the jelly beans into a small pile in front of him and glanced around for any sign of Stan.

“You know about _Homestuck_ ,” he corrected. “Yes, I’ve mentioned it before and—”

“No, no,” Blinky said. “I know what... Homestuck... _did_ to you and your family.”

Ford shoved his mouth full of jelly beans to abscond from the conversation. “Mm-hmm?” he asked.

“Ford, I found your journal.”

A mouth full of jelly beans turned into a throat full of choking. He pulled out his canteen and gulped down some water. “That so...?” he coughed out.

Blinky sighed. “I know this is startling, but understand my only intention is to let you know that I realize now what I said to you in the past was nothing short of insensitive. I apologize for that and for any offense I caused.”

“It’s... It’s alright...” Ford picked up another jelly bean. Just a single one this time. No need to tempt fate with his quick and merciful death again. “How did you find my journal, though? I knew there was a chance of it getting into someone else’s hands when we threw it in the bottomless pit, but the fact _you_ got hold of it...”

“It’s a mystery that even I don’t know the full answer to,” Blinky said. “I imagine that it’s passed through several hands before I...” He coughed. “Found it in someone’s garbage.” Another cough. “But what matters now is that I understand what you went through... and that the stories you and the others have been telling have actually been true. Gravity Falls is a strange town, isn’t it?”

Ford shook his head. “It’s not the only one out there. Arcadia Oaks isn’t nearly as bad but it has it’s charms too...” He leaned against Blinky who looked down in surprise. Ford held up a misshapen jelly bean. “So I suppose you found Journal 3 specifically. Is there anything in there in particular that you wanted to ask about from the source?”

Blinky hummed. “Do you honestly have a metal plate in your head?”

Ford reached up and knocked on the side of his head and earned a small _clang_. Blinky laughed and wrapped his arms around Ford and they began to talk more while Ford ate his jelly beans.

“Wait,” Ford realized sometime later. “So you saw the part with one of the tattoos I have!”

Blinky’s eyes widened. “ _One_ of...? I was under the impression you only had the one!”

Ford darted his around again and cleared his throat awkwardly. “Well... We’re in private... I _could_ show you the others—since you’ve already seen the most embarrassing of them...”

“If you’d like,” Blinky answered. He pulled away for give Ford space.

Ford set aside his coat first. “Alright then, but just this once...” He started to pull off his sweater.

Stan walked in. “Hey Sixer, do you know where I left the—” He looked up at Ford with his sweater halfway off and both Ford and Blinky staring at him in embarrassment. “Oh— Sure, I’ll give you two some privacy. Use protection.”

“We’re not DOING that!” Ford growled, though Stan’s laughter as he left showed he already knew that. Ford sighed and tugged off the sweater the rest of the way before anyone else could walk in. He looked down at his body covered in scars and a few tattoos. “Well... Do you want me to tell you about these?”

Blinky smiled. “Please, if you don’t mind. I’d love to know their significance.”

“Well...”


	17. Hugs

Ford rushed through Trollmarket and straight for Blinky. “Blinky!” he announced upon sight of him. “I need help with something! For _science!_ ”

Blinky stood up in quick alertness. “Yes, of course! What do you need?”

“A _hug_ ,” Ford said.

Blinky stared and then cracked a grin. “A hug,” he repeated.

“Now, I know what you’re thinking,” Ford said. “Typically a hug is an affectionate gesture, but I assure you that this is for _science_. See, I was looking into Troll physiology and determined that your bodies should be impeccably warm, and given the fact you have twice the amount of arms as humans, I made a bet with Mabel that your hugs would rival even hers.”

Blinky laughed in clear amusement. “Did you, now?” he asked between giggles.

“Yep,” Ford nodded succinctly. “So what do you say? For science?”

“Just _hug_ already!” someone groaned at them.

Blinky laughed again and pulled Ford close and held him tight in all four of his arms. “For science,” he agreed. He waited a moment for a verdict. Ford said nothing but instead buried his face into Blinky. “Ford...?” he asked.

“Mmph,” Ford answered. He was practically limp in Blinky’s arms, but somehow still holding tight.

“Oh dear,” Blinky uttered. “Ford, are you alright? I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“I’m good,” Ford answered, quiet and muffled. “This is just... better than I thought...”

Blinky frowned and realized something. “Ford, how long have you been awake...?”

“That depends,” Ford said. “Is it still Tuesday?”

“It’s Wednesday,” Blinky sighed. “Alright, I have a solution to this.” He scooped Ford up effortlessly and Ford squeaked indignantly as a result.

“ _Blinky_ ,” Ford hissed. “I’m capable of walking.”

Blinky didn’t respond and carried Ford until they made their way somewhere away from prying eyes. He sat down with Ford in his lap and held onto him with two of his arms with the other two first took Ford’s glasses and set them aside and then readied reading material. “You sleep,” he said. “I’ll be here to make sure you get some rest. I know how much you humans need it. Especially at your age.”

“I am _completely_ physically healthy,” Ford yawned. He curled into Blinky. “But you _are_ warm, so I guess I can’t say no to that.”

Blinky smiled and held Ford closer. “Sleep well, Ford.”

“WOW, better be careful with all that sweetness, Ford. Otherwise your cavities will get cavities.”

Ford shot his eyes open. He looked around where he stood in the middle of Trollmarket but couldn’t see anyone else around. Not even any sign of gnomes... “Who’s there?” he demands while turning about cautiously.

“Oh, don’t tell me you already forgot about me in your old age, Sixer,” the voice cackled in maniacal, metaphorical capslock. The wind blew and knocked over several stands and threatened to knock over Ford as well. A familiar three-sided shape appeared from the nether. “Why, it’s your good old friend HOMESTUCK. Or should I say **_Bill Cipher_**.”

“No!” Ford shouted. “It can’t be you. We _killed_ you!”

“Oh, sure you did, Ford,” Bill laughed. He floated around Ford’s face and disappeared when Ford tried to grab at him. He reappeared nearby on top of a barrel where he sat with his legs crossed. “That’s exactly why I’m in your dreams again, isn’t it?” He waved his hand dramatically. “You should know it’s only a matter of time before your twin remembers who I am and lets me take over his body and usher in Weirdmaggedon 2 or whatever it is you’re worried about.”

Ford furrowed his brow. “That’s it— You’re not _real_. You’re not the real Homestu— Bill Cipher. This is just some _dream memory_ of you from all the stress I’ve been under.”

Bill stood up and pointed at Ford. “You’d like to _think_ that, wouldn’t you?” He narrowed his eye and floated up. “Wait, who’s _that?_ ”

“Huh?” Ford turned to see Blinky—or rather, dream Blinky—standing nearby silently and frozen in time. “Oh, that’s... That’s just...”

“No way!” Bill floated over Blinky and circled around him almost angrily. “You got yourself a new boyfriend, Ford? What, was I not good enough for you?”

Ford groaned. “This is _definitely_ a dream. We never _dated_.”

“He has six eyes!” Bill shouted. “Was one eye not good enough for you? Since when is having more eyes a good thing, Ford? Look where you ended up with two. You couldn’t see through my ruse and fell right into my hands. But now you’re with someone who has six? Or are you overcompensating for your old age and bad vision? Get it? Because you wear glasses.” He started to sound a _tad_ more strange. “You wear glasses, Ford. I only have one eye and you don’t see me needing more than that to see into the terrors of the universe. And your new boyfriend has six and can’t even see his own gronk-nuks with that bulbous head of his. And boy let me tell you, gronk-nuks are one of the real terrors of the universe.”

“This is a dream,” Ford said through clenched teeth. “You aren’t real. I just have to wait to wake up and not worry about this ever again.”

“Oh no?” Bill asked. “Tell that to your friend, Blinky.”

Ford looked up in alarm. “What’s _that_ supposed to mean...?”

“I’m just saying,” Bill said with a nonchalant wave of his hand. “This is exactly the kind of thing that happened with you and me, isn’t it? I wooed you with, what, some promise of information and companionship and it all blew up in your face? And I only have _one_ eye. Imagine what the guy with six must be planning.”

“That makes no sense,” Ford said. “What would the amount of eyes have to do with anything?”

“You tell me,” Bill laughed. “It’s _your_ dream. But think about it, Ford. He found _your_ journal. The big important one where you gushed about _me_. He would know exactly how to manipulate you now. Just how long do you think _this_ relationship will last before it goes up in flames?” He snapped his fingers and his hand engulfed in blue fire. He held out his hand and seemed to grin. “But you know what could fix that...?”

“No!” Ford shouted. “I’m not making any more deals with you!”

Bill’s cackles echoed around the market and he fade from sight just as the frozen Blinky began to move. Blinky blinked and open his eyes and all six of them stared back with the familiar slits of Bill’s eye. “Then be careful what deals you make with your _new_ boyfriend, Ford!”

“Ford!”

Ford jumped and whipped his head around to try and regain his bearings. He looked up and found Blinky’s blurry face staring down at him. “Oh— Blinky, I...”

“Are you alright?” Blinky asked. “You were... You were yelling in your sleep...”

“I’m fine,” Ford lied. He sat up and slid out of Blinky’s lap. “Where are my glasses...? Ah, thank you...” He put them back on when Blinky handed them to him and his gaze trailed down to the book spread on the table in front of Blinky. “...You’re reading my journal again.”

“Ah... Sorry...” Blinky closed the book. “It was on my desk and you will still sleeping so I thought...”

Ford cleared his throat. “Do you mind if I...?” He motioned vaguely to the book.

“Oh, not at all,” Blinky said and handed the journal over. He watched Ford hide the journal into his coat pocket and he frowned. “Ford... Did you have a nightmare...?”

Ford sighed and nodded. “That would be... an accurate way to describe it...”

“Do you... wish to talk about it?”

Ford didn’t answer.

Blinky sighed. “That’s understandable... Will you be alright...?”

“Oh. Sure.” Ford forced a small smile. “This was nothing.” He hesitated and then sat back down and leaned into Blinky’s side again. If there was one thing he learned, it was not to trust Bill’s lies. He wasn’t going to let this nightmare get to him. Blinky instinctively wrapped his arms around him again, and Ford’s smile turned real. “I should say,” he added.

“Hmm?” Blinky prompted.

“Your hugs _do_ rival Mabel’s perfectly.”


	18. Watching

Something happened after that dance between Blinky and Ford and the hug a few days later that no one knew the reason for, who actually won the bet, or if the bet had actually concluded... but everyone knew this: Blinky and Ford were now openly and almost sickeningly affectionate with each other. It was hard to find a moment where they weren’t standing close enough to be touching, holding hands, or caught head bumping each other in excitement. Yet there was no utterance, despite everyone’s best efforts, whether or not they were considering each other to be dating or if they were just at that level of friendship where they were willing to act like they were.

Some people suggested that maybe the two of them didn’t know the difference which, considering the two in question, made absolute sense.

Others suggested that perhaps they weren’t going to admit they were dating given how they knew how many others were invested in their relationship which, all things considered, was probably for the best at this point.

Stan leaned against a boulder that Dipper and Mabel sat on next to him and they watched Ford and Blinky get back to work on their blaster gun now that it had been properly calibrated for a less powerful concussive force. Stan shook his head and motioned to them.

“Look at them,” he said. “All these years and he’s finally got himself a boyfriend. Never thought I’d see _that_ happen. No wonder he was never good with girls, if he has a thing for guys that aren’t even human.”

“It’s cute!” Mabel giggled. She held up her knitting project. “Look, I’m even making matching sweaters for them! To celebrate their courtship.”

“Are we sure they’re actually dating?” Dipper asked. “Like, I know they’ve definitely gotten closer since we tricked them into dancing together but...”

Stan sighed. “If they haven’t admitted by now, then they’re never going to. Might as well assume they know they’re dating and just aren’t going to say it out loud. Really, you know what I think got them here in the end?”

“Oooh,” Mabel leaned in conspiratorially. “Spill the beans, Grunkle Stan.”

“Remember those journals Ford used to keep?” Stan said. “I heard that Blinky got his hands on one of them.”

“No way,” Dipper gasped. He paused and then winced. “Not Journal 3, was it? If it was Journal 3, then he would have read the embarrassing stuff I wrote...”

Mabel laughed. “You were twelve back then, Bro-Bro. At least it’s not like the embarrassing stuff you’re writing about Jim in your personal journal.”

“Mabel, _shhh_ ,” Dipper shushed. “He’s already in love with Claire—I couldn’t get between that even if I wanted to.” He frowned. “Wait, have you been reading my journal? Mabel!”

Mabel blew a raspberry. “No, I haven’t been reading your journal. It’s just _obvious_. You have a huuuge crush on him, Dipper.”

“Yeah...” Stan looked over at Ford and Blinky again and watched them babble to each other in excitement. “Anyway, Sixer Two found Sixer One’s journal and it, I dunno, gave them something to bond over I guess...? Enough that Ford lost sleep over it and was _completely_ loopy when you made that suggestion that he go see if Blinky’s hugs were better than yours or not.”

“Ohhh,” Mabel said. “I _wondered_ why that actually worked.”

“Yeah,” Stan said and nothing more.

The three of them lapsed into silence. Mabel continued her knitting, Dipper reviewed the notes in his journal, and Stan slowly frowned and tore his gaze away from his brother to look at the other two.

“Kids?” Stan asked.

“Yeah, Grunkle Stan?” Dipper asked without looking up.

Stan frowned at the two kids. “What’s a Bill Cipher?”


	19. Return of Homestuck

Ford stared in stunned silence at the reveal that Stan _knew_. Stan remembered Bill Cipher. There was that sudden rising fear that this may in some way let Bill come back. “No,” he whispered. “How did you remember? We only ever called him Homestuck around you for a reason.”

“Yeah...” Stan said. “Why Homestuck anyway?”

Ford shook his head. “No, this isn’t good. How did...?” He gasped. “The journal— I’m such a idiot—I left it out in the open at home. You probably read part of it, didn’t you?”

Stan shrugged. “Yeah, pretty much. But I don’t think you’ve got anything to worry about, Sixer. I feel completely normal. I don’t think this Homebill Stuckpher guy is anywhere in here.” He tapped the side of his head.

“No...” Ford said before narrowing his eyes. “Or is that what Bill would _want_ me to think?! Prove you’re actually Stan and not Bill!”

“Ford,” Stan groaned. “Relax, will ya...? It’s me.”

“And who’s _me?_ ” Ford pressed on.

Blinky frowned. “There has to be something that can be done. But if Bill is in Stan’s mind, then wouldn’t he know all of Stan’s memories as well? So you couldn’t ask something that Stan would know that Bill wouldn’t...”

Ford groaned. “That doesn’t help us then. I never should have left the journal out. I never should have taken it _back_ from you. How do I know this wasn’t part of Bill’s plan?” He frowned up at Blinky. “How do I know you aren’t working with Bill too?”

Blinky looked back with hurt spreading across his face. Ford winced and placed a hand on Blinky’s arm.

“I’m sorry,” Ford said. “That was too far. But you read the journal—you know how much of a danger Bill can be...”

Stan smirked. “You’re not _scared_ are you?”

“Stanley,” Ford scowled. “This is not a joking matter.”

Stan laughed. “For someone so convinced I’m Bill, you sure went back to calling me Stanley real quick.”

Ford paused and then looked directly at Stan. “You... don’t have _those_ eyes... You’re not _possessed_ , are you?” He scowled. “But you’re somehow still Bill.”

“Wow, you must be some kind of genius?” Stan grinned. “I bet you could use those smarts to build a portal to another dimension. Oh wait. Look where _that_ got you.”

Blinky narrowed his eyes. “This is _definitely_ not your brother, Ford.”

“You figure that out all on your own, Sixer Two?” Stanbill asked. He took a step back. “Tell you what Ford, you help me get my own body back, and I won’t throw your brother’s down  a pit.”

“You leave Stan out of this!” Ford shouted before diving at Stanbill. Stanbill stepped out of the way and let Ford crash to the floor and he laughed and ran away.

“Time to see what chaos I can get up to out here!” Stanbill cackled as he ran.

Blinky hurried to help Ford to his feet and they both flinched at the small explosion they heard elsewhere in the market.

“What is going on?” Vendel demanded as he marched up to Blinky and Ford. “Stanford, _why_ is your brother trying to _destroy_ the market?”

“Long story,” Ford said. “Short version is we killed a demon by erasing Stan’s memories, but when he got his memories back we never told him the demon’s name, but he found out and now _this_ is happening.”

Vendel frowned. “Then this isn’t the demon itself, but the memory of the demon possessing him.”

“Oh?” Blinky asked. “Then how do we fix it?”

“Knock him out,” Vendel said. “Literally. Knock what remains of the demon out of him before he destroys the entire market.”

Ford gasped. “The blaster! If we can get a clear shot—”

Blinky nodded. “We need to get to him before he leaves the market. If he gets to the surface, there’s no telling where he will go.”

“Then get going,” Vendel ordered. “And _hurry_.”


	20. Who Wants To Be A Survivornaire?

The chase around the market was far from fruitful, and it merely led to Blinky and Ford causing _more_ damage trying to stop Stanbill than from Stanbill on his own. Worse yet, Stanbill managed to escape and dart up the stairs towards the exit. Ford and Blinky gave chase and emerged outside in the safety of night. They swivelled about to spy where Stanbill ran off to.

“There!” Blinky pointed to a shadow dodging into the sewers.

“Dammit, Stanley,” Ford groaned. He passed the blaster to Blinky for a moment and pulled out a phone and sent of a quick, hastily typed message to Dipper and Mabel to let them know where to bring the other teens as back-up. He shoved the phone away, took back the blaster, and nodded towards the pipe. “Let’s go, before he gets too far.”

The two of them hurried in and down the pipe in search of Stanbill. Ford felt a movement and saw a shadow and fired the blaster.

The _boom_ echoed down the tunnel along with Stanbill’s laughter of “miss!”

“There!” Blinky pointed and Ford fired again.

Another “miss!” called back to them, but they chased down the tunnel after the voice. Finally, they made it to an open area where Stanbill stood in plain sight before them.

“So!” he laughed. “You found me. Take the shot, Ford!”

“Take the shot, Ford,” Blinky urged.

Ford aimed the blaster. He pulled the trigger...

“...Take the shot, Ford,” Blinky repeated. “Ford, take the shot!”

“I’m trying!” Ford scowled and checked the ammunition. “Dammit, we used up all the charges chasing after him!”

“Ohhh, using _potty_ language, are we?” Stanbill laughed. “Aren’t we all grown up.”

Ford clipped the blaster to his belt. “There’s other ways to knock some sense into you, _Stanbill_.”

“You think?” Stanbill grinned. “Well then... Look what _I_ got,” he sang while pulling out a sack full of who knows what.

Blinky gasped. “Ford, be _extremely_ careful. That is concentrated magic powder. He must have stole it from the market. If he tries to use it then, who knows what will happen.”

Ford winced. “I rather you not have given him the idea...”

“Too late!” Stanbill cackled. He threw the entire sack of powder down in the middle of the area. The dust rose up and spread around the room.

What was a sewer suddenly morphed into the stage of a game show with Stanbill standing as the host in Stan’s old suit and fez and with Blinky and Ford standing together in a pyramid cage.

“Who’s ready for...?” Stanbill started before throwing his arm out dramatically as a marquee lit up behind up. “Who Wants To Be A Survivornaire?!”

Blinky buried his face in his hands. “This is why we never listened to Bill. Because of nonsense like this.”

Ford grit his teeth. He looked up and gasped and shoved into Blinky. “Look out!”

Blinky looked up as well and pulled Ford away with him when the pyramid cage suddenly dropped a spiked ball where the two of them had been standing. The two of them ran about, avoiding other dangers and trying not to scream.

“Look at you!” Stanbill grinned. “You’re like chickens with your heads cut off! Well, not cut off _yet_.” He snapped his fingers and Ford ducked just in time for a buzz saw to swoop out over his head.

“Bill!” Ford shouted. “Stop this nonsense!”

Stanbill scowled. “Only if _you_ get me back my body, Ford! It’s your fault my plans failed!”

“I’ll never help you!” Ford shouted. “Never again!”

“Not even to save your family?” Stanbill asked. “Not even to save whoever that _Troll_ is? Who even is that? Where even are we? This isn’t Gravity Falls—I left that place in a _wreck_ before whatever happened that got me stuck in this old geezer!”

Ford backed against Blinky’s back as a giant axe swiped down in front of him and narrowly missed. “He doesn’t have the powers he used to have,” Ford mused. “That’s why he has to use the powder and get back his old body. Because he’s just memories right now.”

“I don’t know if we’ll get out of this alive, Ford,” Blinky said. “Even if we die, the others should be able to stop him but...” He turned and grabbed Ford again and carried him out of the way of a swinging log that crashed into the axe. They got to the edge of the pyramid where they found themselves cornered.

“Blinky,” Ford said. “This may be my only chance to admit this...”

“Same here,” Blinky said. “Ford...”

“Blinky...”

“I love you!” they both shouted.

“ _EW!_ ” Stanbill shouted from directly behind them. “Ugh, talk about romantic cliches. Could you _get_ even more disgusting?” He snapped his fingers repeatedly. “Hey, hey, look at me before I utterly _kill_ you.”

Ford and Blinky risked turning around and found Stanbill just on the other side of the cage.

“Now, see?” Stanbill asked. “You two and your weird interspecies love affair? _Gross_. Trust me, I’m doing us _all_ a favor and sparing me of having to gouge out Stan’s eyes from seeing you two _smooch_ your lips like _horny slugs_.”

Blinky squinted in disgust. “Trolls don’t _kiss_.”

Ford blinked and then grinned. “No, they don’t. They do _this_.” He shoved his head out through a hole in the cage and hit Stanbill directly on the forehead with a dull _clang_.

Stanbill staggered back and fell to the ground and then held his head and groaned. “Ugh... What happened...? Is this a Homestuck...?”

Ford gasped. “Stan...? Did that work?”

“Did _what_ work?” Stan asked climbing to his feet. He looked up and gasped. “Ford! Behind you!”

Ford and Blinky turned and then dived into each other in fear at the remaining spiky ball heading their way...

...Only for it to be knocked off course and vanish when a sword flew through and struck it.

Blinky and Ford continued to hold each other but breathed in relief now that the others were here to help them escape with their lives. Jim, Toby, and Claire worked to get them out of the pyramid cage while Dipper and Mabel hurried up to Stan to check him over and ensure he’s alright. The magic from the powder faded just as the teens got the cage open and left them all back in the sewer once more.

“That’s over,” Ford chuckled. “That could have been so much worse...”

Blinky smiled and pulled Ford close. “I’m certainly glad it wasn’t.”

“So...” Ford said. “Are we dating now?”

The two of them shared a look with each other and then burst out laughing.

Of course they were dating.

Everyone knew they were dating.

And now they admitted to it too.


	21. Epilogue

“So...” Ford said from where he sat against Blinky’s side. “Who won the bet about us in the end...?”

“Vendel,” Blinky answered. “Though I think Stan got some things right too and so they split the pot.”

“Typical,” Ford chuckled and shook his head. “But at least we’ll—hopefully—get a lot less looks now that no one’s waiting for us to admit our love for each other.”

“Grunkle Ford!” Mabel shouts before she runs in and dives into Ford’s lap. “I have a bet with Jim about you and Grunkle Blinky!”

Blinky laughed. “Grunkle Blinky...?”

Mabel grins and holds up a picture of Ford in a suit and Blinky in a white dress. “Would you wear this for your wedding or this.” She flips the picture to a second one of the two of them of them in glitter glue covered leopard print and with dolphin stickers filling up the background.

Ford paled drastically. “Wedding...?”

Blinky shared a look of panic with Ford. “Wedding?” he parroted.

“Well, yeahhh,” Mabel laughed. “Now that you two are dating, everyone’s making bets on when you’re gonna get _maaarriiiied_.”

“MARRIED?!”

 

**The End**


End file.
